One of the producers from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse shared how long Donald Glover is committed to his role with Sony Pictures.
Warning – this article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Glover’s cameo as the Prowler was one of more than half a dozen appearances by live-action characters from various Spider-Man franchises.
He also became the second version of Aaron Davis seen in the vast Spider-Verse after Mahershala Ali played Miles Morales’ uncle in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Donald Glover’s Future After Spider-Verse 2
Speaking with Rolling Stone magazine, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller discussed Donald Glover’s live-action cameo as the Prowler.
When asked how the team made that cameo, Lord revealed that it was “a personal reach-out to Donald” to play the role, making it clear to the actor that he didn’t have to commit to anything beyond that appearance:
“Yeah, it was definitely a personal reach-out to Donald, who we love and stayed close with. We reached out and were like, ‘We thought of something. It will be so easy. And you commit to nothing.’ And he was really excited to be part of it. He loved the first movie. He has kids that he wanted to surprise by having dad in the movie.”
Miller highlighted Trayce Gigi Field’s efforts in building a costume for Glover in “a matter of weeks,” celebrating how they could pull everything together so quickly to get the actor and character in the movie:
“And we did a fun little shoot. And we got Trayce Gigi Field, who was the costume designer for the first season of [Miller’s Apple TV+ series] ‘The Afterparty’ to build a Prowler suit in a matter of weeks. These things often take months or years to build and she really did an amazing job designing and building something really quickly so we could all come together and get him into the film.”
Will Donald Glover Return to Spider-Verse?
With Donald Glover being one of the busiest men in Hollywood thanks to his run in movies, TV, and even music, it’s not too shocking to see that this appearance in Spider-Verse 2 was the only project he signed up for.
Considering that his version of the Prowler was trapped in the Spider Society’s headquarters as Miles Morales looked to escape from Spider-Man 2099 and other heroes, his appearance in next year’s Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is far from guaranteed.
Many are hoping that he’ll get another chance to shine in the MCU after his short time playing Aaron Davis in the MCU’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, with plenty of room available for him to return in Spider-Man 4 or another future project.
And with Sony producer Amy Pascal confirming that a live-action Miles Morales movie is also in the works, Glover may have another chance for glory down the road in that new entry as well.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now playing in theaters.
